friends


i am blessed with good friends. sometimes one would do foolhardy things for a friend. i remember i was once locked out of our flat at hillview many years ago. at that time we were sharing the flat with lee chin. she had shared the terrace house that we rented at holland village prior to getting this 3-room flat.

this happened during the chinese new year. lee chin had gone back to kluang to celebrate the chinese new year with her parents. i cannot really recall how it happened. i seem to have vague memories of many past events. we could not get into the flat, so i drove to ghim moh to look for kok weng, my former colleague from balestier. he was then teaching at henderson sec and i was at ghim moh sec.

when i told him of my predicament, right away he got hold of a policeman friend of his and together they got into my car and i drove to them to hillview. he had a length of rope with him. securing the rope around his waist, he edged along the parapeet and lowered himself into the flat through an open window. once inside, he managed to release the catch and open the door.

that evening, another good friend of mine, james tan, also an ex-colleague from balestier, dropped in. when he heard about what happened earlier, he dismantled the door lock and took a look at it. he meddled with it and after that the key worked fine. one thing about technical teachers is that they are handy men. you can rely on them to do minor repairs in the house and outside. mc wong, who visited us on the same day as james, gave advice on how to prevent the lock getting jammed.

when my friends kwan and nah come to visit, i usually have some tasks for them. nah has helped me fix the leaking water faucet and the pipes under the sink. kwan has helped me with the re-cabling of my home theatre set.

another close friend of mine, kok tong, used to deliver jack fruit to my place each time he made a harvest in his own garden. he has been trying to get me to join him in running a tuition centre when i retire.

then there is soon boon eng who has been my travelling companion on our many trips in australia, malaysia, thailand and china. we still go on trips together; these days with his son, daughter-in-law and grandson in tow.

my makan kaki victor is another close friend. after checking out good food outlets, he would take me to his new finds. he is the one who introduced me to indian food, eating at places like iniavan, komala vilas and karus.

my good friends at ccab, chan jim kee and lam siew leng are a great resource. every time, i need information or help, i can always rely on them to provide. freddie, my ex-boss, is another person who will go out of his way to give me support and help. when mc wong was there, i would sometimes get to him for assistance.

i also still keep in touch with my former monk's hill colleagues. soo chin, norwita and i make it a point to meet at least once in a while, albeit, a long while. when ex-colleagues from monk's hill have a get-together, they always remember to include me.

members of 'table one' from ghim moh sec used to meet up at least once a year during the school holidays. 'table one' comprised seven chinese lady teachers, mrs lee and myself. i had to struggle with my mandarin to communicate with these members. nowadays, we keep in touch by phone.

there are some friends i have lost touch with and some whom i have not seen for quite some time. those who are contactable, i will make the effort to call them at least once a year, especially during the festive seasons.

when i leave admiralty, i am sure i can count some of my colleagues as my close friends.

finding a cure for chronic cough

normally when i do not feel well, i take a lot of fluid, usually, water. sometimes, it can be in the form of barley, honey water or pei pa kao. so, when i have a cough, i drink lots of water, so much so that i have to visit the toilet more times than normal - and my normal is already more than the average.

i think most of us know that cough medicines are grouped into two types: antitussives and expectorants. antitussives, or cough suppressants, block the cough reflex. expectorants, on the other hand, are thought to thin mucus and make coughing more productive in clearing the mucus from the airway.

people who are not aware of this sometimes switch doctor when their cough gets worse - that is, when they start to cough even more after taking the medicine because the expectorant induces more coughing in order to expel the phelgm.

when i was young, each time i had a bad cough i would go to the pegu road outpatients' clinic for treatment. i would take the medication but not finish the dose of antibiotics. once when i had a really bad cough, one which lasted a few weeks, my grandmother made me drink a concoction that included the remains of a cockroach.

these days when i have a cough, i just cough it away. yes, i still drink a lot of lukewarm water.

teacher's day golf tournament at palm resort, johor

i did not realise that i have been helping out at the teacher's day golf challenge for four years already until my good friend nai ah mentioned it. for the past four years, a group of about 40 teachers, vice-principals, principals and their friends have been spending teacher's day at one of the golf courses at palm resort. they are there to take part in a friendly golf tournament initiated and organised by nai ah, formerly hod discipline in shuqun sec, now vice-principal of chai chee sec.

i have been lending a hand at this tournament since i stopped helping out at the ministry of education's permanent secretary cup, a golf tournament usually held during the september school holidays.

i assist by collecting the course and registration fees from the players, distributing the goodies, going round on the buggy to take some pictures and helping to prepare the prize table and to arrange the prizes. i also help in collating the scores to decide the winners.

we would start off early in the morning, before six, for senai. tee-off would usually be just before 8.00 a.m. two of the players - weng wah and hshieh - live in the same estate and i usually get a lift from one of them.

this morning, weng wah picked me at 5.40 a.m. at the bus stop along bukit panjang ring road. he drove me to fairway at jurong where he picked up two other players. i was transferred into nai ah's car as he had only one other passenger in his car. we travelled to senai via the second link.

when the golfers have teed off, i would have a leisurely breakfast at the golfer's terrace. i enjoy the stillness, serenity and greenery of the golf course. after breakfast, i would get one of the attendants to take me around the course on a buggy to take some souvenir shots.

when i returned from the course, i would start preparation for the prize presentation in the room set aside for lunch. i would lay out the prizes. this year, it was a relatively simple task as there were only five trophies, three for the men and two for the ladies. i would then draw up the chart to record the scores and display the results.

i look forward to doing this because it gives me a chance to relax in a scenic environment. the other reason is that the participants are so appreciative of the help and support i am giving to nai ah. they always come forward to thank me personally.

two on forbes' list of s'pore richest people




of the 40 on the list, i know two of them personally. one is my former classmate and the other is my former student.

my former classmate attends the same church as my wife. his daughter, also from rgs and rjc, is one year older than my elder girl ivy. his other child is a boy who is younger than my younger girl ida. he does not appear to recognise me, even though my physical appearance has not changed very much over the years. he seems to make me feel that i am not worthy of being in his church. so, i do not have much regard or respect for this man although he may be very wealthy.

on the other hand, my former student - who is ranked much higher than my former classmate - was the one who approached me when he saw me at the raffles marina one day. not long after that he extended an offer to me to buy shares in his listed company. he offered this to five of us, his former teachers and also to a number of his school mates.

i believe one of my former colleagues is holding on to at least s$400 000 worth of shares in his company. i have only a fraction of that because i have been trading the shares; still i am grateful to him for the tidy sum of profit i have made.

when he won the entrepreneur of the year award, he invited a number of us - teachers and former school mates - to his wife's fine dining restaurant for a french dinner. he also offered us the use of his work place when we held a gathering of old pupils and former teachers. his work place has a roof-top swimming pool, a gym, a billiard table, a table tennis table, carrom boards and a karaoke lounge. when he was guest of honour at his alma mater, he requested that we, his former teachers, sat at the main table with him.

each time, when we have a gathering and, if he is around, he will make the effort to join us in spite of his very busy schedule. a few times, when i called him he would respond even when he was on business trips in china or the usa.

my retirement dream




what do i intend to do after 38 years or 39 years in the teaching profession? so many of my contemporaries have been successful in their application for optional retirement. one of them is retiring at the end of this month at the young age of 54. i have been contemplating to do so either this year or next.

some of those to whom i have mentioned my intention are concerned. they asked: what are going to do to keep yourself occupied.

most of my friends who have retired do not stay at home lazying around, doing nothing. thai soon continues coaching kayaking and dragon boat racing. two others, khoo boo sun and mc wong, are giving lessons in sailing. a few others play golf on a regular basis and work on ad hoc projects. one, virabhak, has opted to be a full time counsellor.

even those who do not occupy themselves with work, continue to be active. victor, for example, walks into johor bahru every day and he has a schedule for meeting up with his different groups of friends. some like nara, balendra and sethi busy themselves looking after grandchildren.

it has been a dream of mine to open a small cafe in some obscure corner of singapore. not many such places left. this place could serve as a gathering point for old friends and ex-teachers. they can while away their time talking about the good old days. it may remain just a dream.

if i do go into this small business, it is not so much for the money but more for want of something to do to keep myself occupied. i can prepare a few of my favourite dishes and i also know where to source for good food at retail prices.

i will have more time to explore all the nooks and corners of singapore and to check out all the good food places. i will also like to visit all the small places in west malaysia. i can also shuttle between melbourne and singapore, visiting my daughter or daughters, should ida decide to pursue her university education in melbourne.

i will have more time to write my own life story and post the stories on my blog. in my own way, i am writing my autobiography.

i actually enjoy doing house work, so there will always be something for me to do at home. and the plants will get more of my care and attention.

the gap @ fraser's hills

the access road to the top of fraser's hills used to be regulated. this stretch started from just after the gap. at odd hours, traffic moved in one direction and this was reversed at even hours. but after 7 p.m., there was no more control and this 8-km stretch of road became a free way. this meant traffic was bi-directional. we tried the two way once, when we had no choice but to get to the top after dark.

i understand things have changed with the construction of a new road, which was closed shortly after it was built and which has since reopened. now, uphill traffic goes by way of the new road and downhill traffic uses the narrow old road.

another time, we opted to stay at the gap resthouse instead of risking the drive up the narrow and winding stretch after dark. the caretaker used to be one mr sua. we enjoyed his western food. he served english breakfast in the morning with bacon, egg and toast. he would not allow durians in the room. once we 'smuggled' some durians into the resthouse and ate them outside, throwing the husks down the hill by the edge of the resthouse.

each time we went to fraser's hill, we never failed to drive to the waterfalls, near which was a camping ground popular with the locals. the few times that i was at fraser's, i used to see one of my former teachers near or at the golf course. he seemed to be there every school holiday. i could recognise him because of a ear ring that he wore.

lay bee's cell group had a retreat at fraser's hill some years ago. that was the time when koh boon long and his family joined us on the trip.

7 out of 50


out of the 50 listed top restaurants in singapore in today's lifestyle section, i have experienced 7 of them. the 7 are chef chan's cantonese cuisine, crystal jade palace restaurant @ ngee ann city, lei garden @ chijmes, pu tien, beng hiang, long beach seafood and guan hin.

may have gone to a few others on the list but cannot really register. i do know that i missed out on one - peach garden at thomson road. i was supposed to attend a dinner there but had the impression that it was located at thomson plaza. by the time i found out the exact location, dinner was almost over, so i did not go.

i have eaten at chef chan's three times when it was housed at toa payoh safra. my friend mc wong took me there for lunch after one of the school's national swimming meets. recommended the crispy roast chicken to me.

went to crystal jade and lei garden for family dinners. enjoyed the dim sum at these two restaurants. especially like the small egg tarts at crystal jade.

victor, helen and i ate at pu tien last year. went back on my own once. for starter, we had the chilled bitter gourd in some sweet sauce. also tried the steamed bamboo clams and the noodles.

have not eaten at beng hiang for a long time. last ate when my father-in-law was still around. vaguely remember the kong bak, noodles and the ngoh hiang.

guan hin is near my former place at towner road. the braised goose meat is nice. so is the steamed fish.

beaches of kuantan - balok & berserah beaches (2)

i think we have been to kuantan at least 6 times. after staying twice at hyatt kuantan, we decided to stay somewhere else on our subsequent visits to kuantan. we picked le village, a 3-star hotel about 15km outside kuantan. (today it goes by the name duta village beach resort.) we have also stayed at 4-star swiss hotel along the same beach. windsurfers will have heard of this beach. kite flying and wind surfing are very popular activities at this beach.

normally, i do not enjoy swimming at the pool in a hotel but i did in this one. the reason is the water in the small pool was so warm that it felt like you were in a heated pool. the hotel was, and still is, in a rustic setting but there were not many amenities or facilities.

usually, for meals, we would make our way to telok chempedak. we would go to this restaurant by the beach. from the restaurant, you could watch children and adults flying kites on the beach. for the afternoon meal, we would sometimes have it at a food centre in the middle of town.

about 5km from balok beach is another beach called berserah. there is a fishing village at berserah and as you drive into the village, you will get a whiff of the smell of salted fish. we do not specially go there to buy salted fish, we actually go there to watch the water buffaloes haul in the basket load of fish. we managed to watch this once, at about 10 in the morning when the fishing boats had just returned.

on certain evenings, there is a pasar malam on the main road outside the village. i think we have eaten at the food stalls at this pasar malam.

sri araskesari sivan temple @ sungei kadut

decided to have a change of mechanic to service my car. ever since i bought the car, other than the initial free servicing at kah motors, my car has been serviced by hup cheong at the mobil petrol kiosk along bukit timah road. i have never paid less than s$200 for each servicing.

as a measure to reduce the cost of car maintenance, i got victor to introduce me to his mechanic whose workshop is located at sungei kadut drive 1. although i ended up paying more than $200 again, i did not feel that i was overcharged because the cost included the replacement of the air con fan's motor.

while waiting for the car to be ready, we decided to walk to the hindu temple at sungei kadut avenue. it was quite a long and tiring walk, especially for victor who was having some rheumatic problem with his right leg.

we had wanted to remove our sandals and placed them, like we have done in the past when we visited other hindu temples, at the entrance of the temple. we were advised by a devotee to wash our feet and leave the shoes/sandals away from the entrance, which we did.

sri arasakesari sivan temple is a compact temple. the adjoining hall is in a 4-storey building. i know the hall was ready before the temple because i had gone with ramesh to locate it when it was first built, and i think that was in 2004.

victor gave a history of the temple. when it was at 1140 woodlands road, it was a ceylonese temple and the name did not include 'sivan'. the temple land was donated by one kathirasoo from johor bahru. they had used the compensation money to build the new temple.

he also told me that the priests were garbed in vesti, not sarong or dhoti. according to him, those who choose to wear vesti are ultra hindus.

beaches of kuantan - chendor beach (1)

we have fond and wonderful memories of the times we spent at the beaches of kuantan.

first was our experience at chendor beach, which is about 45km outside kuantan and 10 km north of cherating. i remember we stayed in some budget accommodation at cherating. we were there in september, with the sole aim of watching the leatherback turtles coming onto the beach to lay eggs.

there were 3 families, with four children altogether. at nightfall, we were told to wait in our rooms. when a turtle was sighted, the hotel operator would send someone to our rooms to alert us.

they did, at 2 a.m. we were all awakened and, in our sleepy state and pajamas, we ran on the sand after the hotel personnel for nearly 2 km. in our haste and excitement, we almost forgot to lock the rooms. those of you who have tried running on sand will know how much more strenuous it is compared to running on a track or the road. there was already a crowd at the site.

in the dark, we could make out a giant turtle digging a pit with its flippers. the turtle watchers did not seem to have any feelings for the turtle at all. some were shining their huge torches directly at the poor animal as the turtle prepared itself for the big lay. we had been briefed to avoid loud noise and sudden movements in order not to disturb the process.

after the turtle had laid its eggs, it would cover the spot with sand before making its way back to the sea. this one did not get a chance to lay its eggs. when it decided to return to the sea, some of them tried to stop it from doing so. some sat on the shell of the giant leatherback and some tried forcefully to turn it landwards.

the next day, when we were at the local market, we saw turtle eggs being sold openly. at that time, the conservation law was still not in place.

melbourne in spring - tulip festival in the mountains


if you happen to be in melbourne during the season of spring, you should go to the tesselaar tulip festival. the festival is from 14 sept to 11 oct this year. entry prices are usd$14.50 (for an adult) and usd$9.50 each for a group of 10 and more.

if you are driving, take the eastern freeway all the way to springvale road. turn right into springvale road at the end of the freeway. follow springvale road to cantebury road. turn left into cantebury at the traffic lights. follow cantebury road to york road. turn right into york at the roundabout. follow york road and turn right into monbulk road at the next roundabout at mt evelyn. follow monbulk road through the next set of traffic lights, all the way to the tesselar tulip festival in silvan.

there are treats from the plant stalls, gift shops and you can pick your own tulips. food and wine are available. tesselaar has two popular weekends - the food, wine and jazz weekend and the irish weekend.

ivy has been to the tulip farm the last two years. thought of visiting melbourne this september holiday but i am now having second thoughts as i will be too early for the opening of the tulip festival. two of my colleagues are going to melbourne on a study trip from 2 to 7 sept.

soo lin's birthday celebration in school on 8 aug & send off on 12 aug 2006







for the first time i did not take any picture at the departure hall of the airport. i was there to see soo lin off to the united states of america. she was taking the same sia flight that took diana, veni, bim and norhana to newark on 29 july.

i did not use my digital camera mainly because i was the only colleague there. mdm lim had been there earlier and had left. i was not aware that she was at the airport. actually i was there around the same time but i was looking for soo lin at another part of the departure hall. when she did not respond to my phone call, i thought that she had boarded the plane. but then i reasoned it was most likely. she was going to a faraway place and for quite a period of time, surely she would want to spend as much time with her family and friends as possible before going into the departure lounge.

finally found her near counter 4. she was surrounded by her family members and her former classmates. met soo lin's father for the first time. was introduced to her other brothers. could see that the niece and nephews were very close to her.

on 8 aug, we had celebrated soo lin's birthday with a birthday cake in school. she was in school at around 1.00 p.m. ms chui had sent an email to all exco members informing them of the occasion.

cooking the sea cucumbers





although i did not end up buying any fresh fish from the fishery at pontian kechil, i did return with some sea product - bought a kilogram of sea cucumbers from shin huat's parents. they were the the fresh type, not the dried variety. of course, they have already been processed.

to further remove any trace of the fishy smell, we boiled old ginger and spring onion in water and soaked the sea cucumbers in it. we had also used a metal spoon to scrap whatever innards that were still left in the sea cucumbers.

shin huat had warned me that the sea cucumbers are actually gelatin and so it cannot be cooked for a prolonged period otherwise it will 'melt' into a jelly form. we had come to know about this the hard way. we had stewed some sea cucumbers overnight during the chinese new year. the next day, we could not find the sea cucumbers.

this time around, we stewed the chinese mushrooms and scallops in oyster sauce and added the sea cucumbers much later. even then, they shrunk to about one quarter the original size.

elaborate malay wedding at 544a community hall

some forty motor cycles, with the leading ones revving their engines, heralded the arrival of the groom at one of the more elaborate malay weddings to be held at the community hall 544a. there was the usual kompang group but with a difference. this group also had some gamelan musical instruments. a youth let off some muted firecrackers as the procession moved towards the hall. the groom was flanked by the two bungga manggar carriers.

as they stopped in front of the community hall, there was a silat performance by first, a young man, next, a young lady and finally, the master and a young follower.

preparations for the wedding function had started on friday night. coconut fronds were used to frame the archways. as is the tradition with malay wedding, cooking was done in the gotong royong style. again, the one difference i noticed in this case was: satay was included in the menu.

it is a warm feeling to see among the guests chinese and indians. they were members of the motor cycle gang. although the whole service road was blocked for the duration of the performance, no motorist seemed to be unduly upset.

jim kee's daughter's wedding dinner

attended kelly chan's wedding dinner at furama city centre last night. like my daughter ivy, kelly did a stint of relief teaching at admiralty primary school. ivy knows her because they were both from rjc. kelly is two years her senior. incidentally lee fong seng - former principal of rjc - was at the dinner. so was kelly's former gp teacher.

kelly received a bank scholarship to study at berkeley university in california. that was where she met her husband patrick considines.

i have known her dad jim kee since the time i was taking charge of track and field in balestier hill secondary. we used to organise friendly competitions for our athletes. we also served together at school camps held at pulau tekong. we shared ideas and information freely, and so when he organised an 11-day overland tour of java and bali for his thomson secondary school's students , i followed suit with one for my own students the following year.

when he joined ccab (ecac, in those days) and became the track and field adviser, he enlisted my help to do the job of scoring and recording. later, i roped in my good friend kok weng to write a computer program to speed up the process.

i benefited from his advice when he took over as adviser for outdoor education. with his help, i managed to get student leaders from victoria school and cedar girls' secondary to help run my school camps.

yesterday night seated at the same table were victor, kay heng, seng long, thurai and their spouses. harry tan of nie, who was supposed to be at table 29, did not show up. nicholas tang and major lee were from other tables.

trip to pontian kechil

finally accomplished what i had set out to at the beginning of this year: that was to go with shin huat to his hometown. could not make it during the first part of the year because he was attending the ddm course. heard so much about the fresh fish that could be bought off the trawlers. actually, i was not very keen on buying fish; i was more interested in seeing the place.

started off from woodlands at 6.30 a.m. there was no jam on both sides of the causeway. there was the usual commuter traffic on the way to pontian. reached pontian kechil at around eight o'clock. pontian kechil, about 62km from johor bahru, is a small town after pekan nanas.

shin huat's parents and the helpers were busy processing and packing the cuttle fish and sea cucumbers. for breakfast, we had bak kut teh at a nearby makan shop. everybody in this place seemed to know everybody. the predominant dialect group here is teochew.

drove to the reclaimed area to have a look at the sea - 'the straits of malacca'. the shops were still not open as it was only 9.30 a.m. according to shin huat's mother, a lot of locals and visitors flocked to the area fronting the sea in the evening to drink and enjoy the sea breeze.

had tar mee for lunch at another nearby shop. started off from pontian kechil at about 1 p.m. made a toilet stop at a 24-hr macdonald's along the scudai-pontian road. there was some delay at the malaysian side of the causeway because of some construction work at the check-point.

(evidence of my being there: my car parked in the compound of shin huat's house)

thomson medical centre

both my two daughters were born at this 190-room private hospital which was established in 1979. before that it was known as 'wc cheng clinic' at 329 thomson road. the present address is 339. i remember the number '329' because it is a number associated with one of the local gangs.

ivy was born in 1983. lay bee went into labour in the evening of june 2. as it dragged on, i told the gynaecologist and obstetrician dr tan that i would rather go home and sleep than stay there and wait indefinitely. told them to contact me when the baby was due. anyway, i was back at the ward in time to see ivy make her appearance in this world.

in the case of ida - who was born in the year of the dragon, in 1988 - the waiting time was rather short. before we were prepared for it, ida decided to show up. i was not allowed as much space and freedom as when we were waiting for the first birth. the nurse actually wanted to shoo me out of the delivery room.

heng gi roasted goose and duck rice


these days have been seeking out the 'makan places, lost and found' food stalls featured in one of mediacorp programmes. a fortnight ago ate at heng gi goose and duck meat stall located in tekka food centre.

it is a corner stall facing rochor road, facing the former rex cinema. it is not difficult to spot this stall as it is the only one with a queue at most times. used to frequent this stall when it was at the former hill street food centre, next to the central fire station.

again, it was victor who introduced me to this stall. he used to visit jason ong who owned a computer shop at funan centre, just across the road. each time, he visited jason, he would eat at this stall.

according to victor, this stall had started at north bridge road before moving to the hill street food centre. at hill street, it occupied a corner stall on the 2nd level.

although the goose meat is seasonal, we seemed to be able to eat it every time we visited the stall.

at tekka centre, it is stall #01-406. its opening hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. it is closed on mondays.

the stall is rated 2 1/2 chopsticks by makansutra; translated to mean " must try, otherwise regret, lah."

send-off for norhana, bimaljit, diana and veni

as was expected, i was at changi international airport terminal 2 to see them off to new jersey, usa. i had made up my mind the night before to go to the airport but that morning i thought i had to abort the idea because ida wanted me to drive her to college. subsequently, she changed her mind about doing self study in her college.

ramesh had called me earlier in the morning to get information on the flight and flight time. so, i knew that there would be at least one other colleague at the airport to see them off. i did not expect the crowd of well-wishers. mdm lim, ms winders, jenmeet, jameela and normala were also there. jenmeet was there with her son and maid; normala's family was there; and jameela's family too. diana's parents had driven her there and they left before my arrival at the airport.

there was a bit of display of emotion at the airport. norhana's two girls were in tears and norhana's eyes were also wet. i told norhana that she ought to travel more often.

farewell dinner for soo lin at merchant court

had been wanting to meet up with soo lin before she leaves for her 2-year study course at indiana university, usa on 12 august. finally settled on a date (4 aug) and place, so daniel, ms chui and i had dinner with soo lin at market cafe, merchant court. we did not approach the others as it would have been a problem coming to a consensus on the date, time and place.

we - daniel and i - both have feed-at-raffles cards, so we thought we could save some money by using the cards to obtain the 50% discount. it turned out that the cards could not be used on weekends. at hotel outlets, friday is considered the start of the weekend.

as we had to pay the normal price, we thought of switching to blue potato, located in the same hotel, where they were offering bbq dinner at $41 per person. they could not accommodate our last minute booking.

had buffet dinner. food was quite good, with a wide choice but we did not touch the fresh oysters. maybe we did not think they were that fresh after all. there were teh tarik, yam paste, muah chee and peranakan food among others.