3 Weeks Post 60DWCC - Planning and Booking a Family Trip to Hong Kong

2 weeks have quietly slipped by before I realize it is time to update the 60DWCC blog again. For our family, the first 3 months of the year are usually packed with family events, birthdays, anniversaries, CNY, Valentines and so on. Hence it can be quite a challenge to 'find' time to write when we are 'swamped' with so many DVDs to watch (ha!), family to-do lists and so on. By the way, I have run out of excuses and so here goes...

Day 75 - Saturday

Saturday Morning Run

I went for a run this morning. No, I do not usually run on weekends. But I find that it was necessary as I have had too many 'good food" over the week. It is so easy to overeat these days without even realizing it when there are so many luring food temptations going around everyday.

Change of Family Tour Destination

We had to make a another trip to my parents' place due to the fact that the flight vacancies for March have sold out for most ideal tour destinations like Hong Kong and Taiwan. In view of that, we have decided to change the trip to June and instead of going Taiwan, and we have decided to go Hong Kong. THL and I will start to source for June HK packages beginning tonight and we will try to secure the best possible Free and Easy package.

After having dinner at Carl Junior at Jurong Point, we went back home to start working on finding the best online package for Hong Kong for June.

Day 76 - Sunday

THL and I spent most part of the day hunting for good online bargains for trip to Hong Kong in June. As we wanted to take SQ flight, stay at 5 Stars hotel as well as having good accessibility to the MTR station, it was really quite a challenge to finally shortlist a couple few packages that fit our criteria.

We spent the entire day at home with THL cooking both lunch and dinner. In order to get the best possible deal, we have decided to wait a couple of days before booking the tour as there may be price changes during weekdays.

We ended the evening re-watching a Japanese thriller DVD - DeathNote - Part 1.

Day 77 - Monday

Today was a pretty routine day with me performing all the weekly household chores and working on my projects. I also spent some time monitoring the prices of the Hong Kong deal on the website that we intend to book from. As the pricing did not change, we decided to wait for another day and see how it goes.

We watch Deathnote - Part 2 in the evening after our dinner.

Day 78 - Tuesday

I rented some DVDs home today after getting lunch back. To my dismay, instead of going down, the price of the Hong Kong package went up by around $450 today. It was truly unexpected, THL and I regretted not booking it over the weekend. Sigh... THL and I decided to take the risk and wait for another day.

After our dinner, we watch one of the rental DVD - Gravity. It is a relatively new show and it has grabbed many awards and while there are only a few casts throughout the show, the storyline and script were superbly written and in my opinion, it would have been well worth the money even if we choose to watch it in the cinema.

Day 79 - Wednesday

Dry Spell 

It has not been raining for a few months since last December and the weather has gotten very humid. RK and I were feeling hot and sticky even with minimum mobility around the house. It seems this dry weather will persists until late April.

The price of the Hong Kong did not change today and we decided to book it before another round of increase happens.

We spent the evening going through the Hong Kong pictures that we took when we were there in 2010. RK was only 4 and the half years old and it was fun looking back at some of the happy moments that we shared back then.

THL and I also planned out some places of interest to visit when we bring our family there in June.

Day 80 - Thursday

I had dinner with THL at KFC today with RK waiting at home. We bought back RK's share after that and since it is a Wednesday, RK went for his tuition after dinner.

THL and I begin one another drama serial from Hong Kong - 功夫状元 this evening. It was an old DVD package that we bought a few years back and we forgot about it. The starting part of the show was slow and boring but it does get a little better as the show progresses. 

 

Day 81 - Friday

RK and I took a bus down to Jurong East to meet up with THL for dinner at Food Republic - West Gate this evening. This is the first time we are having dinner at the branch in West Gate. 

After dinner, as usual, we walked and shopped around to have with the digestion before heading to get some necessities from NTUC at JEM. We took a bus home after that.

THL and I continued our watching of the 功夫状元 after RK hit the bed at 10pm.

Transport Expenses (Day 75 - 81): $18.67

Day 75: $8.39

Bus Ride:

Home to Bt Panjang => $1.27 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.12

Bt Panjang to Jurong Point => $1.31 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.2

Jurong Point to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Day 76: $0

Day 77: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 78: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 79: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 80: $1.56

 

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to JW Blk 502=> $0.73

Day 81: $3.74

Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Feeder bus to JE => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

Feeder Bus from JE to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Weekly Afterthoughts:

Although the trip to Hong Kong for the 3 of us may set us back by about $2k, it is still worthwhile amount of money to spent as it is a once in a lifetime trip to finally have the chance to go on a oversea holiday with my family. Moreover the amount of transport expenses that we have saved from not owning a car have more than pay for the entire trip itself. 

 The 3 of us are looking forward to the Hong Kong trip in June and I will be sure to blog about it when I get back. So stay tune, ok?

2 Weeks Post 60DWCC - A Week of Sinful Food & Melancholy Mood

Another week flew past and here we are still trying to shake off the melancholic mood that grabbed us ever since we finished watching the Korean Drama.

Day 68 - Saturday

Family Day at Bukit Panjang

As THL has to work till 1pm today, the 3 of us met up at Jurong East after I fetch RK from his tuition centre. We had lunch at Lot 1 before taking a bus down to visit my family.

We were there for a few hours. THL and I went to shopped around Bt Panjang Plaza at around 5.30pm and we bought dinner back for the entire family. There were discussions about making a family trip to Taiwan during this coming March school holidays.

THL and I will go source for some packages and we will see if it is feasible to go in March. We took a bus home and continued with our beloved Korean drama after we washed up.

Day 69 - Sunday

Shopping for Taiwan Tour Package at Chinatown

The 3 of us left the house early to catch a bus to Chinatown. There is actually no direct bus to Chinatown and thanks to THL, we ended up at Bt Merah Bus Interchange and had to take another connecting bus to Chinatown.

We had lunch at Yoshinoya (at Chinatown Point) before starting our hunt for Taiwan tour packages. To our disappointments, the pricing for Taiwan or any other destinations for that matter have already gone up and we reckoned that it does not make financial senses to pay a few hundreds more just to hop on a plane in March.

We collected some Taiwan brochures and we asked for pricing for Jun and we were done for the day. Hurray! After that we took a bus from Chinatown to Tanah Merah MRT and took a train down to Bedok Mall.

After hearing our friends talking about it for a while, the 3 of us finally paid our visit to this latest mall in Singapore. While it was not as good as we thought it would be, the varieties of the shops there still took us a couple of hours to browse through.

As for dinner, we had it at Pho Street - a Vietnamese restaurant. The food was quite delicious and the prices are within reasonable range. After dinner, we took a long train ride back to Jurong East and took a feeder bus home.

Despite the tiring day, THL and I still manage to catch an episode of the Korean drama. LOL...

Day 70 - Monday

A Short Retail Therapy at JEM

Today was a typical work day with usual routines. At 545pm - RK and I took a bus down to Jurong East Interchange. We meet up with THL at JEM for dinner at KFC and we shopped around. THL and RK bought a cake and we took a bus home after getting some necessities from NTUC.

Day 71 - Tuesday

Sinful Dinner at Kushinbo

Yeah, we had this sinful dinner at Kushinbo - Jurong Point and the 3 of us ate our full during this close to 3 hours meal.

THL and I had spoilt our stomach silly with snow crabs legs, prawns and Sashimi. We even managed to grab 2 plates of the hourly special food which was a half lobster drenched with black pepper sauce. THL and I were up to our neck with food before we decided to call it a day and foot the bill.

As we were too lazy and to full to walk to the bus interchange, we took a cab home. Such is the hidden cost of a meal at Kushinbo. LOL...

Day 72 - Wednesday

Reporting sick at Polyclinic

Thanks to the last night's dinner at Kushinbo, THL's stomach went on strike this morning and she had to take medical leave today. We took a bus to the JE polyclinic (our virgin trip there as we are huge fans of GP clinics) and upon looking at the huge pools of people there, we sighed and thought it was going to take forever.

But...to our surprise, the queue numbers went around fast and before we knew it, THL has seen the doctor and has collected her medications. All within 90 minutes. Yeah...it was that fast. And guess what, there was even a payment kiosk near the entrance for THL to pay her medical expenses.

The Korea Drama frenzy ended...

Since THL was on sick leave, the 2 of us managed to finish up the Korean drama series. Yeah! Finished watching after close to 7 weeks of consistent watching.

The melancholic mood stuck the both of us hours after finishing the show. It was the kind of sad when it is time to bid farewell to some good friends. As we may not be watching it ever again, both of us were in a somewhat melancholic mood for a few days...hoping that there will be a season 2. Wishful thinking on our part...:D

Day 73 - Thursday

Dinner at MIL House

After RK wakes up from his afternoon nap, both of us took a train down to THL's mum place for dinner. I have always enjoyed having dinner there as the food was always simple but delicious.

After dinner and an hour of chit chat and catching ups, the 3 of us took a train back to Lakeside and took a slow stroll back home. Nice...

Day 74 - Friday

Weekend Mood at JEM

The 3 of us meet up at JCube and we decided to have korean food for dinner at the Kopitiam foodcourt there. Nope...it has nothing to do with the Korean drama that we finished watching few days ago. Feeling sad again as I wrote this...:)

After dinner, we shopped around and I bought 3 pairs of new socks for my morning runs. The current ones are already worn out and it is time to retire them. We had a drink and a piece of fattening dessert (Raspberry Cheesecake) at Coffeebeans to enjoy the rest of the evening before taking a bus back home.

Transport Expenses (Day 68 to 74): $49.00

Day 68: $9.63

Bus Ride: $6.86
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong East Interchange (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09
CCK to Bt Panjang => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
Bt Panjang to Home => $1.27 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.12

MRT Rides:
Jurong East to CCK => $1.11 x 2 + $0.55 = $2.77

Day 69: $17.44

Bus Rides:
Home to Bt Merah Interchange => $1.55 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.68
Bt Merah Interchange to Chinatown => $0.93 x 2 + $0.46 = $2.32
Chinatown to Tanah Merah MRT => $1.51 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.60
JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

MRT Rides:
Tanah to Bedok => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
Bedok to Jurong East => $1.81 x 2 + $0.58 = $4.20

Day 70: $3.74

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong East Interchange (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Day 71: $8.52

Bus Rides:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong Point => $0.83 + $0.41 = $1.24

Taxi Fare:
Jurong Point to Home => $6.45

Day 72: $1.46

Home to Polyclinic => $0.73 x 2 = $1.46

Day 73: $4.47

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

MRT Ride: $3.64
LS to PN => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09
Joo Koon to PN (THL) => $0.73
PN to LS => $0.73 x 2+ $0.36 = $1.82

Day 74: $3.74

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Home to Jurong East Interchange (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Weekly Afterthoughts:

Wow. The transport expenses for this week was a hefty $49. While it is a huge jump from last week, it is still within reasonable range as we did quite a bit of traveling this week. We have been to Chinatown, Bedok Mall, Bt Panjang and not to forget we even took a cab home on Tuesday after our sinful meal at Kushinbo.

So, all in all, this amount of traveling expenses was expected and it is so insignificant when compared to that of owning a car.

1 Week Post 60DWCC - It Has Been a FUN Week

Another week has rolled by and I must say it has been a FUN week as we have quite a bit of fun despite the tiring schedules.

Day 61

Praying to Tai Sui at Boon Lay Tua Pek Kong Temple

We left for the temple early in the morning. Since THL and my Chinese Zodiac signs were in conflict with the Tai Sui (犯太岁) in the year of the Horse, both of us had to go through some traditional rituals to help neutralize the negative effects against us.

Do we really believe in such thins? Well, sometimes it is better to believe (play safe) than to be stubborn about it and get into trouble with your life. Remember that life is all about balance...

Day out at River Safari

We spent the rest of the day at River Safari. It was a family trip and we initially planned to bring the kids to the Zoo. And yet due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to change our plan and bought tickets for River Safari. Despite the unexpected change of event, we were quite excited as it is our first time visiting the place.

The entire visit was nice except for the painful long waiting time for the ferry ride to visit the remaining parts of the River Safari. The 90 minutes wait was definitely not worth the less than 10 minutes boat ride. I believe we are not the only one ended up with bad taste in our mouth after taking the boat ride. It was really a joke.

Anyway, new fools are born every second...there is nothing we can do about it.

Day 62

Korean Drama Day

Another stay home Sunday that was essentially spent watching Korean drama. Apart from meals, THL and I spent most part of the day watching the Korean drama series. Despite us watching for a few weeks already, there are still more than 20 episodes to be watch. As for RK, he has been busy exploring new games and watching new animated cartoons over Youtube.

Day 63

School's Complaint against RK

RK's form teacher called up in the afternoon to complain about RK playing rough in school. It appears that RK has been running around and playing rough with his school mates every morning. I was upset with the complaint and I strongly urged the teacher to feedback this to the school management. The school should take preventive measures against this as accident is bound to happen if this continues...

Day 64 and 65

As THL has to go out with friends plus having company dinner, I had to "babysit" RK for both evenings.

Day 66

Cataract Removal at SNEC

My mum went for a left eye operation for cataract removal. This is an operation that my mum has postponed for 10 over years due to fear of pain. The quick and painless operation took less than 10 minutes and mum was so impressed with it. She told us that she did not even realize it was over. She told us that she would have gone for it years ago had she knew it was so quick and painless.

Moral of the story -> No venture, no gain. There are so many things in life that we will never ever know until we try it. It is painfully obvious that not everyone has the risk appetite to try out new things. Myself included.

RK had a Fall

RK fell down when alighting from school bus. He came home with a bandaged knee. And despite that, he was still active and was keen to tag along as THL and I shopped for our Valentines gift for each other.

Day 67

RK did not go to school today as I wanted his knee to recover well over the weekend. The entire day was spent watching over him and playing some online games with him. We also watch some videos together.

Both of us went for a hair cut at Jurong Point in the late afternoon and we had a drink at Coffee Bean while waiting for THL to reach Jurong Point. We had our dinner at Jurong Point before going back home.

Transport Expenses (Day 61 to 67): $15.09

Day 61: $1.82

Bus ride:
Home to Boon Lay Tua Pek Kong => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Day 62: $0


Day 63: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83

Day 64: $0.83

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Day 65: $0.83

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Day 66: $5.81

MRT Ride: $2.90
LS to Outram => $1.51
Outram to JE => $1.39

Bus Ride: $2.91
Home to JE Interchange => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09
JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Day 67: $4.14

Bus Ride:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Home to Jurong Point => $0.83 + $0.41 = $1.24
Jurong Point back to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Weekly Afterthoughts:

The transport expense was incredibly low at only $15.09 this week. This is all thanks to the many free rides THL and I have enjoyed over the weekend at River Safari and THL's night out with her friends and colleagues.

The temptation of getting a car has lessen with each passing day and while it may still be a possibility that I will still get one ultimately (not sure when), there is not clear signal for me to get one for now.

Day 60 of the 60DWCC - McDonalds Salad for Dinner for a Change

The entire day gone by quickly like always. Do we only feel it when we are past 35 years of age? I have no idea but I really do feel the fast passing of time after I was 35 years old. Weird...

At evening time, THL and I meet up at the McDonalds nearby our place to get our dinner. We bought chicken salad from McDonalds and a McChicken burger for RK. The queue was relatively short for peak hour and we got our dinner all packed up within 10 minutes.

We had our dinner while catching up with our Korean drama. Spent the rest of the evening alternating between watching TV and Korean drama.

That's how we spent the final day of the 60DWCC. :)

Transport Expenses: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83

Expenses from Day 46 to Day 60 stand at $102.58 which is somewhat lower than last 2 weeks. 

The entire 30 days expenses for the 1st Month = #214.64
The entire 30 days expenses for the 2nd Month = $228.69

Hence the total expenses spent on transportation over the entire 60 days challenge amounted to $443.33 which is really a small fraction of the entire car expenses ($1700 x 2 = $3400) had we still own the SUV. Wow...

Daily Afterthoughts:

Today marks the end of the 60 Days Without Car Challenge. Although it has ended, THL and I feel that we should continue to track core daily activities and transport expenses. But we will not be updating it on a daily basis anymore. I will be providing the update every once a week highlighting some interesting happenings throughout the week and of course I will still collate and tabulate transport expenses we incurred for the entire week.

Will we be getting another car soon? The short answer is No for now. But who knows...the genuine need for it may spring on us soon, we will see.

Day 59 of the 60DWCC - Dinner at JCube Foodcourt

As it was already 5.30pm by the time I finished the last bit of my scheduled work for the day, RK and I quickly took a bus to Jurong East to meet up with THL to deposit some cash (mostly from RK's CNY red packets) at the POSB ATMs outside the CPF building.

There was quite a long queue but it was nothing compared to the one I saw last night at Jurong Point - can you imagine some 50 to 60 people in front of you queuing up to deposit cash? What kind of horrible nightmare is that??

After we are done with the cash deposit, we make our way to JCube. We checked out the food court at the basement to see if it was already packed. To our delightful surprise, the foodcourt was only half full so we had our dinner there. We order the pepper lunch from one of the stalls and since it was having a discount, we ordered 3 set meals for only $6.90 each. It is not everyday that you see such delicious deals. :D

After dinner, we walked over to West Gate for THL to grab some breads for breakfast. After that we walked over to JEM where THL bought herself a piece of neck wear. After that we took a bus home and ended the evening watching the Korean drama again. :D I guess we are truly addicted to the Korean drama already, aren't we?

Transport Expenses: $3.74

Bus Rides:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong East => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09
Jurong East Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Daily Afterthoughts:

One more day to go and we are at Day 60 of the challenge already, time really flies, doesn't it? As the days gone by, the urge to quickly get another car diminishes and for now, I will really want to see if there is really a true need to get one.

My mum's health has gone downhill since last 2 years and if I had to get a car, it would probably be for the convenience of fetching her for her many medical appointments at NUH and SGH every other weeks.

Day 58 of the 60DWCC - Rushed Errands and Shopping at Jurong Point

As RK has tuition this evening, THL and I arranged to meet up at another coffeeshop nearby to have our dinner. After we send RK in for his tuition, THL and I took a bus to Jurong Point and we were kind of a rush since we only have 90 minutes before we have to fetch RK back from his tuition centre.

And guess what, there was not a single bus going to Jurong Point for a whole 17 minutes and by the time we reached Jurong Point, 30 odd minutes have passed. THL and I had to split up and rush through our errands and for me to buy a few things from the DIY shop. By the time we meet up again at Popular Book store, 80 minutes have passed and we have less than 10 minutes to travel back to fetch RK.

After we hopped on the next bus home, I had to send a SMS to the tuition teacher to inform her that we will be late in fetching RK. We manage to fetch RK but we were 15 minutes late.

We spent the rest of the night watching the Korean drama after RK has gone to bed.

Transport Expenses: $4.98


Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL & I) => $0.83 x 2 = $1.66
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83 x 2 = $1.66

Daily Afterthoughts:

We were rushing against time this evening and it is always during such moments that the thoughts of getting a car flood my mind. Yeah, with a car, I would have saved that 17 minutes waiting for a bus. How efficient and time saving.

But 10 minutes later, it dawned back on me that I would have spent 17 minutes inside a car looking for a parking lot inside Jurong Point during peak hours like this evening. So what difference would it made owning a car,the logical part of my brain shouts reasons back? As we are always so used to our personal comfort zone, once in a while we should really get out of it and experience something difference and see how we fare. Feeling like taking up the challenge like we are doing now? :)

Day 57 of the 60DWCC - Junk Food for Dinner

It is definitely an excellent feeling that I am finally able to do some productive work after 5 days of rest and play. :D

The entire morning quickly gone by with me catching up on my projects and works. I will be going for a run every morning now after I send RK off to school. I will be starting my morning run at around 6am every month, how awesome is that! I am hoping to shed another few pounds by end of February.

The usual routine marched by after RK came home. While he is taking his afternoon nap, I manage to get some more work done.

As THL has been very eager to redeem her Burger King voucher for 20 pieces of nuggets, I told her to redeem them this evening for our dinner. So she bought a burger for RK and redeemed her voucher at long last.

Besides nuggets from Burger King, she also bought wedges. Having junk food for dinner is definitely unhealthy, I am hoping THL will not get anymore voucher for junk food in the future. Speaking of that, I suddenly remember we still have lots of CNY goodies that we will need to finish up soon...sigh...:(

Transport Expenses: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83

Daily Afterthoughts:

We are fast approaching the end of the 60 day without car challenge and to be very honest, it was definitely not a painfully slow experience like we expected, it was really nothing short of fun and excitement. While there were a few angry moments here and there - when we missed the bus we want and had to wait for a few more minutes. :D

With THL and RK getting used to taking public transportation now, we may postpone the getting of another car until further announcement from MAS to amend the current rate of loan and loan period. Let's see how it goes...

Day 56 of the 60DWCC - Stay Home Monday

THL and RK were both at home today despite it being a Monday. Today is a public holiday in-lieu as the 2nd day of the CNY fell on a Saturday.

So yeah, with THL and RK at home the entire day, I knew I would not be able to get anything done (work-wise) so I decided to spend the entire day with them.

We spent most part of the morning watching Korean drama. THL cooked lunch while RK and I played some online games. After lunch, the 3 of us watch a DVD (Percy Jackson - Sea of Monster) together.

We had dinner 煮炒 at a coffeeshop nearby our house. Due to the CNY, the price for all the dishes were slightly above average. But it was still acceptable to me and THL as the food quality was rather good.

After dinner, THL and I continued to watch the Korean drama while RK do his own things (play games and watch Youtube etc).

Transport Expenses: $0

Daily Afterthoughts:

Today marks the end of the 5 days holiday and I am glad I am able to go back to work starting tomorrow. :)

Like I mentioned before, these many weeks without car have seen the transport expenses taking a nose-dive but our expenses on food have risen dramatically. My worry is not so much on the expense but the fattening effect it has on THL. As you know, she is already over-weight, the continuous flow of good food is sure to add a few additional pound on her to say the least. :D

It is my hope that THL will take the effort to exercise more this year as she is really horizontally challenge in the first place before her fall in 2012. I will my best to make sure she exercise as she pours more food (junk ones mostly) into her tummy. I really do not want her to end up like the guy in the picture below. :)